


Lord John

by thatsoccercoach



Series: Which Door? [40]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Family Feels, Family Fluff, Lord John sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 17:50:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13932180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsoccercoach/pseuds/thatsoccercoach
Summary: Jamie makes an impulsive decision.





	Lord John

                                                                 

The truth was, Jamie was impulsive. Most often, his impulsivity was tied to acts of love such as making a fancy yet unexpected dinner for Claire or building a playhouse out of repurposed lumber he’d found on Lallybroch grounds for his daughters. He didn’t think of what it would cost him, he just dove in and gave of himself without reservation. It was one of the things both drove Claire mad and made her love him dearly. At this moment, the emotion vying for top spot was without a doubt the former.

“Really?” Claire asked in a voice that was completely flat. She glared at her wide-eyed husband with skepticism. “Jamie, honestly, you thought bringing home a _puppy_ was a good idea? Now?”

She’d just returned from a long, challenging shift at the hospital and was definitely not prepared to have a conversation about this. Not a civil conversation at any rate. She needed tea and sleep and snuggles from her daughters. Possibly from her husband too, but that remained to be seen.

Soulful puppy eyes ( _actual_ puppy eyes, not Jamie’s) looked at her and silky ears just begged to be stroked. The puppy _was_ in fact adorable. There wasn’t a bit of doubt about that. It was just everything surrounding the adoption of a puppy at this time that was overwhelming.

“Jamie, you work, I work part-time, and in a few more months we’re having a _baby_. How are we going to manage two toddlers, an infant, and a dog?” she rolled her eyes as her words seemed to build his enthusiasm rather than reign it in. The man loved family; the bigger the better. How on earth would she convince him that now was not the time?

“Mama,” Faith’s small voice piped in from where she sat on the floor, arms wrapped around the fluffy pup. “Lord John wants to stay with us forever!”

“ _Lord John_?” Claire inquired, shooting a dark look toward her husband. “You brought home a dog _and_ you named it?”

“I didna do any such thing Sassenach! ’Twas the lasses who did,” he gestured madly at the curly-headed toddlers on the floor.

Bree was grinning like a maniac while twirling circles around her “new fren” and, _oh, just marvelous,_ Faith now had her head laid docilely against the puppy’s side, a look of absolute serenity on her face.

“We’ve talked of this before though, aye?” Jamie reached out to her and gently grasped her upper arms forcing her to face him.

Claire continued to glower.

“If ye truly think this isna the time, I’ll take him to Jen and Ian. They’ve room for him too and wouldna mind. There were pups wi’ out a home and I just thought our lad would need a dog.”

“Jamie,” she said for what felt like the hundredth time just since she got home. “A…a puppy?” She stilled then leaned into him. “And we don’t know that the baby is a boy,” she corrected abruptly.

He chuckled into the curls that were springing loose from the knot on the top of her head. “We’ve still a few months afore this new bairn joins us. Claire, you canna tell me you dinna dream of our bairns running about Lallybroch wi’ a dog of their own. Yes?”

“Yes,” she mumbled reluctantly into his shirt front.

“And we talked of this just the other day. Ye said that you’d think on it,” he continued to wheedle. “The girls clearly love ‘im already,” he swept his hand toward the cuddle puddle on the floor.

“ _This_ ,” she mirrored his gesture of only moments before, “Caught me off guard!” She arched her brows at him to emphasize her point. “You’re right in that we talked about it, but I would have loved to make this decision together instead of coming home to it.”

“Yer right, Sassenach. I got caught up in the excitement but,” he paused and slid his hands down to clutch hers. “We _can_ keep ‘im, aye?”

The look he gave her was so like the looks on her pleading daughters faces that she couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes,” she sighed. “Come now, let’s figure out where Lord John is going to sleep tonight.”

 


End file.
